Modern Love
by NorthwoodsPoet
Summary: For John Gage, falling in love is easy; finding the right person to fall in love with...not so much. Johnny finds the road to happiness is often a bumpy one. Meanwhile, Dixie and Dr. Brackett are hitting a few potholes themselves.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Modern Love

Characters and Pairings: Johnny, Roy, Dixie, Kelly Brackett, Chet

Rated: T for language, just to be safe

Summary: Sometimes we are unable to see the wrongs being committed when they right in front of us. John Gage faces "growing pains" with his relatively new best friend and his career as one of LACoFD's almost as new paramedic program.

A/N: This story, at least in the beginning, may jump from the current moment, to back in time. I will try to make it as smooth as possible. The story begins with the episode of Emergency! "Peace Pipe".

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. I make no money from writing about these characters. They belong to the wonderful writers and creators of Emergency! and Mark VII productions. Any quotes from the series will be in italic and bold print. This chapter as mentioned starts with the episode "Peace Pipe"

**_"That's not funny!"_** John didn't know what to do first. The person he considered to his closest friend, his _best _friend, had hurt him in a way he never thought possible. As he was getting ready to question Roy about his comment regarding the Indian jokes, Chet had blindsided him. He could deal with ignorance; it wasn't like that was in short supply in society. He could even put up with off color remarks, so to speak, about his ethnicity as so few people truly knew anything about Native Americans that hadn't been twisted and trivialized in so many books and movies. What he could not tolerate was exactly what had just happened. Chet took his joking to a level that crossed the line to discrimination. He tried to say more regarding Chet's blatant disrespect of his peoples' most sacred ceremonial tool but, no words would form. He could not recall a time when he was more angry and hurt. When he felt his eyes begin to tear up, he did the only thing he felt he could do, he gave Chet Kelly and his tackily decorated "peace pipe" a disgusted look and walked away.

Roy watched his best friend walk from the bay toward the back lot. He knew Johnny was beyond furious with Chet and his pipe by the simple fact he wasn't still there reading the riot act to his shift mate. If John was just angry he would be there yelling at Kelly as he always did when the Irishman harassed the younger paramedic. He would be telling Chet just how little he knew about Indians and make some remark or another at the lineman's expense. Over the past year and a half Roy learned some things about his partner's personality, or thought he did. The thing with John Gage was that just when you thought you had him figured out, you didn't.

Giving his partner a moment to calm down before following him outside, Roy thought about how much or how little, it seemed, he knew of his friend.

Roy thought John was quiet and introspective when they were taking the paramedic class at Rampart. He noticed the younger man would watch every procedure very intently and seemed to trying to commit every aspect to memory. Roy liked that John took the program almost as serious as he did. This paramedic training program was to Roy, a turning point in the fire department. He knew that if the bill passed in the state house countless lives would be saved. So many times rescue personnel were only able to comfort the sick and injured. Soon it would be allowed that these specially trained men would be able to start treatment prior to transportation to the hospital. He knew as a medic that his being there in that moment, could make all the difference in the world. Whether it was Roy's enthusiasm or if John also figured out the enormity of what they were trying to accomplish, John soon became as big a proponent for the paramedics as Roy.

On a morning before class, Roy headed to the cafeteria to meet his new friend for coffee. The younger man had his manuals spread out over a table as he scanned the books and took notes. He seemed completely oblivious to the noises and chatter going on around him and Roy wondered how he could concentrate in such an environment. He, himself, needed to be in a quiet room to study. It was something he had learned from his father who was a teacher. No distractions made it easier to absorb what you were trying to learn. Roy was taught at an early age to sit comfortably in a well-lit room with space to spread out your books and papers. He remembered being so happy when his parents got him a writing desk for his birthday so he could study in his room instead of at the kitchen table

His father's teaching him good study habits was rewarded when Roy graduated valedictorian of his high school. Those habits also served him well during his time in the army. He would study at night, after chow and chores. When the others were playing cards or shooting pool, Roy was studying his manuals for his medic and field training. The young field medic's time in the hellish jungles of Vietnam was not a very long one. Three months into his tour of duty, Roy's father passed away unexpectedly. The military was going to allow Roy to leave the service to care for his mother as he was the only male child of the Desoto household but, Roy opted instead to stay in service in the National Guard. This would allow him to say close to home to be with his mom and also give him a job of sorts while he tried to figure out his future.

After finishing up his two years in the National Guard, Roy was getting ready to apply to colleges when he saw an article in the paper regarding employment opportunities for city and state agencies. He came across the fire service information and smiled. He remembered how he wanted to be a fireman when he was little. He loved seeing the trucks in the parades and wanted so badly to up on them with the men waving to the crowds. His parents indulged childhood fantasy for a few years but, it was made clear to him that college was in his future. Civil service jobs were fine, his father had told him, for those who, for whatever reason, could not go to college but, his son was going and there was no argument about it. Roy, as he did for every decision he had to make, took time to go over every aspect of the situation. In the end and after a lengthy discussion with his fiancée', Joanne, it was decided that Roy would take the civil service exam to see about entering the fire academy.

Roy passed both the civil service and academy tests and the rest as they say is history. He thrived in the fire service. It reminded Roy of the military and loved the structure and discipline of it all. He relished riding the engine and being on the front lines of firefighting. He made friends easily and was making a bit of a name for himself in the Los Angeles County Fire Department. He dreamt of working his way up to Captain and then a Chief. He figured he could retire at about the age of 50 to 55 years of age and live a quiet existence with his now wife and growing family.

When talk of a program about training firefighters to become a kind of field medic came about, Roy joined the cause and fought not only to get the program implemented, but after his training he decided to do some recruiting as well. It was on the last day of this recruiting schedule that a rescue man, though if Roy could have, he would have called him a rescue "kid", walked into the office full of questions and arguments and determination. Roy convinced the kid to sign up for the program, giving him his sixth and final student.

John R. Gage signed the paperwork with a borrowed pen, shook the older man's hand and in a very short period of time turned Roy Desoto's tranquil, if not overly disciplined, life… ass end up.

Roy was startled out of his thoughts when Chet spoke up. "Jeeze." He stated with slight irritation in his voice. "What's eatin him?" The lineman jerked his chin in the direction Johnny had just gone. "I apologized to the guy and even made this peace pipe like the ones described in that book I got. What more does he want?"

Roy looked at Chet for a moment before responding. "Apparently, he didn't feel you apologized. And I know I didn't help matters with my comments about the jokes." Roy looked closer at the pipe Chet was holding. "Are you sure that's a_ peace_ pipe? I mean maybe it has some meaning you don't know about. Did the book give direction on making one?"

Chet shook his head. "Nah, the guy just described a long pipe with feathers. Said the Indians would smoke these with the white settlers as a sign of peace. It was their way of saying welcome, or something like that." Chet looked over his handiwork. "I mean it may not look exactly like an old peace pipe, but I did the best I could." Chet looked at the offending object once more, shrugged and walked back toward the dorms.

Roy took a deep breath and was about to go talk to his partner when the tones sounded.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Modern Love

Characters and Pairings: Johnny, Roy, Dixie, Kelly Brackett, Chet

Rated: T for language, just to be safe

Summary: Sometimes we are unable to see the wrongs being committed when they right in front of us. John Gage faces "growing pains" with his relatively new best friend and his career as one of LACoFD's almost as new paramedic program.

A/N: This story, at least in the beginning, may jump from the current moment, to back in time. I will try to make it as smooth as possible. The story continues with the episode of Emergency! "Peace Pipe" but I swear it will not linger there. Also, I promise, this is NOT a Chet bashing story. Just picked a starting point and want to try to get into the heads of the 51 crew as they settle in to a routine with each other. I hope that makes sense.

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. I make no money from writing about these characters. They belong to the wonderful writers and creators of Emergency! and Mark VII productions. Any quotes from the series will be in italic and bold print. This chapter as mentioned starts with the episode "Peace Pipe"

As Johnny finished changing from his uniform to street clothes he thought back on the shift that just ended. Roy had said he was too sensitive regarding the Indian jokes. _He_ didn't feel he was being sensitive at all. But, when Chet had mentioned the tarp used to cover him and Roy from the sniper and had asked John how he thought of it, John did what he considered the unthinkable. He mocked his own culture. Sure, not nearly as bad as Chet had done, but he did it just the same**_. _**

**_"_****_Well, it was one of those natural instincts the anthros talk about. You see, it's a lot like a blanket and everybody knows us redskins have a big thing for our blankets."_** Then he put on a cocky smile and went to his partner and smiled down at him **_"10-4?"_** He said with a smile. Roy looked up at him smiled back and responded**_ "10-4"._** John looked at his crew mates and then moved on to the dorm.

He felt he put on a good enough show to let them know he wasn't too sensitive. Only he was. He was _very_ sensitive when it came to the Native American side of his family. John was very proud of his ancestry. He came from a strong and proud culture. John had never derided his culture before and it made him sick to think that he had done so just to fit in with his new friends. He was feeling less like a grown man at the moment and more like a schoolboy trying to win the favor of the popular kids. He sighed once more and finished changing. He knew what would cheer him up and smiled as he made his way to his truck.

Roy came out from the dorm looking to invite Johnny over for breakfast. He felt that things were back to normal after the rescue yesterday. His partner had even joked with Chet about Indians and blankets so maybe now things would settle down. Johnny never seemed to stay mad long and on occasion would even forget that he were angry to begin with. That trait in his partner baffled Roy more than any other. How could you forget why you were angry? Yep, John Gage was definitely one of a kind and though Roy sometimes wondered about his friend's sanity, he never doubted his friendship. People had told Roy they thought he was nuts taking John as a partner but, no one was saying that now that the program was almost about to be a year old and they saw his partner in action. Nope, Roy knew there was something special about Johnny and he was right, as usual. Not finding his best friend in the station he changed and left for home. He was feeling pretty good, all things considered. He decided to ask Chet to back off on the Indian jokes though. Johnny was pretty moody for most of last shift and there were few things worse than working with a moody john Gage. He would call his partner later to firm up plans for the fishing trip they were planning their next days off. Joanne was going to her sister's and the paramedics figured it would be a great time to get away and relax for a bit.

Marco, on the other hand had not come out from the kitchen after the shift finished their morning coffee. He was thinking about the conversation he and John had after dinner last evening. John was helping finish up the dishes when out of the blue he asked Marco how he handled Chet's jokes about his being Mexican. Marco gave John a questioning look and John asked again.

"I mean… I know you guys are pretty tight, so…uhm… what…what I mean is…how do you handle the remarks when he jokes about Mexico or Mexicans?" John asked as he helped Marco finish the dishes the night before.

Marco took a breath and then John noticed the man was having a hard time keeping eye contact with him all of a sudden. "Ah…he uhm…" Marco stammered a bit as he tried to answer John's question honestly.

When John realized that his shift mate was looking a bit guilty, he answered for him. "He doesn't, does he, Marco?" He began. "He doesn't make jokes about your ethnicity or your family or where you grew up." John's voice by the end of that revelation has taken on a tone that pulled at the older fireman. Marco stared at his friend as the younger man's expression darkened. John's eyebrows were pulled down and his lips were tight. "Everyone feels I'm being overly sensitive to Kelly's poking fun at where I came from and my cultural beliefs, but he isn't doing it to any of you, is he?" John held Marco's gaze for a moment, unable to say anything more as he felt the anger rising again. He hated feeling this way and did not want to show anyone just how badly Chet Kelly's remarks were getting to him.

Marco watched in silence as Johnny placed the drying towel on the counter and walked out into the bay area. He didn't know what to say when the paramedic asked about Chet. The Irishman had never made jokes about Marco's ethnicity or anyone else's that he knew about. As he was thinking on this, Captain Stanley wandered into the kitchen for a cup of coffee.

"You ok there, pal?" He asked as he poured the liquid into a cup Marco had just washed. "You look like your trying to figure out the problems of the entire world there."

"Not the entire world, Cap." Marco replied as he began to resume his dishwashing. "Just our little corner of it."

"Oh?" The older man replied as he leaned back against the counter. "Looks like it's pretty serious given the look on your face. Anything I need to know?"

Marco looked at his captain and took a deep breath before replying. "Johnny and Chet." He started and his captain gave a chuckle.

"What're those two up to now?" He asked as he relaxed a bit and took a sip of his coffee.

Marco thought about it for a minute before speaking. Maybe cap could offer him some advice regarding what John had asked him. "Johnny asked me how I handled Chet's teasing me about being Mexican." He started.

Captain Stanley looked at Marco questioningly. He knew that Kelly was always teasing the younger paramedic about one thing or the other but was not sure why John would ask Marco such a question.

Marco picked up on his boss's look and sighed. Mimicking the older man's stance, he leaned back against the counter before continuing. "Last night, after that western that Chet wanted to watch ended and he and Johnny began that debate between Indians and whites?" He began with a questioning tone to let his captain know where his dilemma was stemming from.

Hank nodded as he recalled that he packed up his paperwork and headed back to his office to avoid yet another Phantom/Pigeon argument. Marco went on. "Well, It began to escalate and then sort of just ended when Chet made a remark about his grandmother or something being Indian and Johnny teasing him about it being a white royalty syndrome thing or something like that and then Johnny left and the rest of us laughed at the fact that Chet's pigeon got him back, ya know?" Marco looked at Hank and after the man acknowledged that he was up to speed, he went on. "Well, I thought it was done and forgotten, like most of their arguments, but…" The fireman paused and thought again about John's question and the emotion he heard when the younger man realized that only his background was being mocked by Chet.

When Marco failed to continue for a time Hank spoke up. "Marco, did I miss something after I left?" He asked with a hint of worry in his voice. He knew that Chet teased John a lot and sometimes felt that he should put an end to it but, it never seemed to go anywhere and John seemed to forgive and forget it almost immediately after it happened. "Do I need to talk to them?"

Marco looked at his boss for a moment before responding. "I really don't know how to answer that, Cap." He responded. "I mean, I didn't really think much about it after John made that remark, you know?" At Hank's nod, the lineman continued. "And then after that sniper rescue, Johnny even joked about being a redskin and blankets, remember?" Hank nodded but remained silent letting Marco continue. "So, I figured that like usual, John got back at Chet and had moved on like he always does."

Hank sighed. "But, now you aren't so sure."

"No, now I'm not sure what to think." Marco looked down at the floor and then back at his boss. "As he was helping me clean up from dinner, John asked me how I handled Chet's teasing me about being Mexican." Marco looked at the door where John had gone and then back at his captain. "The thing is, Cap, Chet doesn't make jokes about me or my ethnicity. In fact, I can't remember him _ever_ teasing anyone about their ethnicity. The only person I've seen him do that to is Johnny and only recently." Marco paused and took a deep breath. "I was just wondering if maybe Chet had run out things to tease John about and was now just picking on what was left, not really trying to be mean or anything but…" Marco shrugged and looked at Hank before finishing. "I think this time though, Chet hurt Johnny more than any of us realized. He seemed really upset when he left a few minutes ago, Cap. I feel terrible."

Hank looked at Marco, a confused look on his face. "Why would you feel bad, Marco?" He asked. "You weren't the one who made those comments."

Marco shook his head slowly as he responded. "No, Cap, I wasn't." He responded quietly. "But I was one of the people who found it entertaining when it was happening. Not just yesterday, when John got Chet back, but the other times when Chet's gotten on Johnny about one thing or another." Marco looked back at the doorway. "I am just wondering if maybe we let it go on for so long that Chet feels when it comes to Johnny nothing is off limits."

Marco sighed, cleaned his cup and headed for home.


End file.
